Sámi ethnicity as a variable. Premises and implications for population-based studies on health and living conditions in Norway

The use of Sámi ethnicity as a variable in studies aiming at quantitative knowledge on health and living conditions at the population level in contemporary Norway is challenged by in-sufficient Sámi-demographic data and blurred Sámi-ethnic boundaries. Based on the premise that the Sámi can be conceptualized as an ethnic group which is also an indigenous people, this thesis explores aspects of the operationalization, registration and (self-)reporting of Sámi ethnicity in the Norwegian part of Sápmi. The purpose was to contribute to more systematic knowledge on and understanding of factors that may affect the design, results and interpre-tations of population-based studies involving patterns of Sámi health and living conditions. The thesis employs empirical data from the Sámediggi electoral roll in Norway for the period 1989‒2009 (Paper I), from Norway's 1970 Census (Paper II), as well as from the SAMINOR study; a population based study of health and living conditions conducted in 2003/2004 in selected rural areas with Sámi and non-Sámi settlement in Norway (Papers II and III). The results show how Sámi ethnicity can be measured in various ways, and how both the ethnicity measures themselves and (self-)reported Sámi ethnicity based on such measures, may change over time. The choice of Sámi ethnicity measures can have a noticeable effect on study populations' size and geographical profile, but seems to have less influence on the outcomes when comparing living conditions in the Sámi population and in the remaining population in the same area. The overarching discussion emphasizes that epidemiological studies using a Sámi ethnicity variable must take into account the Sámi-internal variation and the complexity of cross-cultural research, i.e. the study of ethnically defined populations. The thesis' main message is that it was not possible to propose an unambiguous solution regarding the operationalization of Sámi ethnicity. It is argued, however, that a key challenge is that of weighing the two measures 'Sámi linguistic connection' and 'Self-identification as Sámi'. It is also argued that using Sámi ethnicity as a variable calls for particular awareness not only about how studies are performed, but also about the purpose of each study and the research standpoint of the actors involved in the various phases of such studies. Overall, the thesis offers a systematic overview that may facilitate meaningful communication about results obtained by using Sámi ethnicity as a variable; that it becomes more transparent who we are talking about when the topic is health and living conditions in a population that is neither given nor uniform.